【原声视界】Day 2 I Found Out I Was Adopted And It Broke My Heart

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Hello everyone, my name is Andrew. Sometimes, a family is not what it seems to be. We all have our secrets, and when they're revealed, it can change us completely - and not necessarily in a bad way.  But let's start from the beginning:

My life was never anything special – my mom and dad were simple people with regular jobs. We never had any big fights, but I couldn't say we were close either. We didn't talk much except about usual stuff like school, grades and what was for dinner.

When the time came for my 15th birthday, my parents wanted to have a party with all family friends and their children. I was very annoyed, because I wanted to have some fun with my friends. But my parents insisted, so I HAD to accept. During my birthday, one of the guests, a friend of my parents, said: “It's amazing how much you look like your parents despite your situation.” I was confused, and I immediately asked: “What situation?” “Oh…” he said, “...you don't know…"

The rest of the party was normal, but  days afterwards I couldn't stop thinking about what he had meant. One of the things that sprang into my mind was that maybe I had been adopted. It could have been true, because I'd always noticed small differences between my parents and me. So one day at dinner, I asked if I had been adopted. My parents just stared at me with a worried look on their faces, not saying anything. And at this moment I realized I was right. A I was ANGRY. EVERYONE knew except me. And it hurt, a lot. I was asking himself: "Who I am? What do I do now?" It was a very confusing and scary time for me.

I almost started a rebellion. I spent a lot of time outside late at night, and my grades at school went down.

The thing I couldn’t understand is why they wouldn’t just talk to me about it. Why they try to act like everything is normal? Even worse, they got angry at me when I was out for too long, and tried to control me. They weren’t even my real parents, so what right they had to do that?

One evening, when I got back late, my father started shouting at me for being spoiled and ungrateful despite everything they did for me. So I turned around and left the house.

I didn't know where to go, so I just went forward through the dark streets. I don’t know for how long I was wandering, but it felt like hours. I just kept thinking about how nobody really cared about me. My real parents probably left me, and I was nothing more than a nuisance for my adopted ones.

I couldn't return to my home, so I went to his favorite childhood place – a pond where I had loved to look at the ducks when I was little. I sat there, cold and sad, and cried. I was completely lost.

Suddenly, I saw my parents' car driving up next to the pond. My mother got out of the car. She looked scared and worried. She came to me and hugged me. 

“We were so worried! We didn't know how to find you, so your father said that we should try looking for you at the pond”.

I continued to cry, asking my mother questions – why did my parents leave me? Why had you never told me?

My mother sighed, and finally answered my questions: “To be honest, darling, your real parents just didn’t want you. But we do want you. And we love you. Both me and your father. We decided not to tell you, so you would have a normal childhood. But I guess we were wrong. I’m sorry. You are the best thing that ever happened to us.”

The only thing I couldn't understand is why my father is still just sitting in the car and doesn't even come out to me. I looked at the window...I saw him crying as well. I had never seen my father cry. In fact, I rarely saw him showing any emotion. And his tears told me more than his words could ever say.

“Let's go home,” my mom said. And I did.

I realized that my parents ain't perfect –  they don't always know how to express their emotions or how to do the right thing. But they did love me. And it didn't matter if I was adopted or not. They're still my parents, and I love them despite all their peculiarities. Being loved is one of the best feelings in the world. And I was loved. And for that moment, that was enough for me  to be happy again.